Filtering and Censorship

The problems with Ethiopia’s proposed hate speech and misinformation law

In April, the Ethiopian government published a draft law that aims to tackle hate speech and disinformation in the country. Here Halefom H. Abraha, a PhD candidate and Marie Curie research fellow at the University of Malta, analyses the proposed law, which he believes is highly problematic and raises more questions than it answers.

Why regulators like Ofcom are dropping the ball on ‘Fake News’, dark advertising and extremism

An ongoing Commons Select Committee inquiry into ‘fake news’ is expected to look in detail at the role that intermediaries of information such as Facebook and Google play. Their significance in the online landscape is not in question: it is likely that the two companies will account for more than half of all UK digital ad revenues by the […]

The Intimate (Self-)Regulation of Big Tech

Turkey regularly blocks non-heterosexual websites, the Apple store prohibits overtly sexual material and Facebook has a problem with female nipples. The regulation of sexual content – or content that is deemed to be of sexual nature – is a regular feature of internet governance and self-regulation of platforms and apps. In this post Lukasz Szulc, LSE Marie Curie Individual […]

The evolving conversation around fake news and potential solutions

Fake news, its causes and what to do about are some of the key issues that we plan to address as part of the LSE Commission on Truth, Trust and Technology that we will launch later this year. The Commission will examine the wider crisis in the quality and credibility of information in the digital age. Fake news isn’t new, […]

On fake news, alternative facts and the era of Minority Report

Since November’s US presidential election, the issue of fake news has been debated probably more than ever before: where it’s coming from, how it spreads and whether or how attempts to stop it should proceed. Joanna Kulesza, professor of international law and Internet governance at the University of Lodz, Poland, argues that we need careful consideration of the laws […]

The final days of Labour’s Facebook GE2017 campaign

One of the reasons for Labour’s surprising performance in this year’s general election has been said to be voter turnout – which, at 68.7%, reached its highest level since 1997. An analysis by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and João Carlos Magalhães suggests that a shift in the party’s Facebook advertising strategy in the last 48 hours of the campaign might be one […]

Is the Conservative Party deliberately distributing fake news in attack ads on Facebook?

The Conservative Party made clear that they would run an anti-Corbyn campaign, attempting to contrast the alleged weaknesses of the leader of the Labour Party with Theresa May’s supposedly superior leadership. An analysis of Tories’ Facebook advertising by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and João Carlos Magalhães suggests that this negative campaign included specific instances of demonstrably false or misleading information.

Britain’s decision to leave the European Union is the most important event in the recent political history of the UK. However, days before election day, Labour’s campaign on Facebook seems to be ignoring the Brexit issue, an analysis by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and João Carlos Magalhães indicates. This post is the second in a series that is examining data collected […]

What will the UK election mean for online privacy?

Online privacy and the implications for data security are under intense discussion, particularly following the UK’s third terrorist attack in recent months, which led Prime Minister Theresa May to reiterate her call for more regulation of online spaces. In advance of Thursday’s general election, Vladlena Benson, Associate Professor, Department of Accounting, Finance and Informatics, Kingston University, looks at what […]

How the Liberal Democrats are using Facebook ads to court ‘remainers’

It is evident from their manifesto that the Liberal Democrats want to appeal to “remain” voters. It is by looking at their Facebook ads, however, that we get a clearer idea of how their strategy on Brexit has been unfolding, an analysis by LSE researchers Damian Tambini, Nick Anstead and João Carlos Magalhães suggests. This post is the first […]

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